Writing Athena Plays Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword - Final Chapter & Epilogue

Chapter 21: Mostly just shopping in the dark

With our mission on the Dread Isle complete, we hopped back on board Fargus's ship and sailed back for the mainland to have a nice heart to heart with SM and Celever. Everyone was introduced all around, and then Celever explained that he and SM got separated when they escaped and he washed back up on shore on the island where he hid in the forest. SM speculated that her amnesia was brought on by the grief of losing her brother.


<Green> So, let's cut to the chase here. The whole reason this Keeper guy wanted you guys in the first place is because you can summon dragons right?
<Celever> Oh, gosh no, he can do that himself so long as he has enough "quintessence".
<NotJim> Quintessence?
<Celever> *shrugs* Human energy, basically. Keeper steals it from people, sucks it up through a straw like the world's most powerful milkshake.
<Skyleaf> Ewww... :<
<Celever> He wanted to gather a whole bunch of it at once. That's why he teamed up with Darin to start a rebellion; war is a great way to release a lot of quintessence at once.
<Jabber> How... lovely.
<Celever> That's only one way, though. Certain people also have a lot of quintessence, generally people who are strong-willed, or at least people who are important to the plot. There's where NotJim's dad came in. He had enough quintessence that with him, Keeper didn't need to start the war anymore, so his plans changed.
<NotJim> :< :< :<
<Celever> SM and I talked with him a lot. He was a cool dude. I'm sorry he's dead. :<
<NotJim> Me too. :\
<Celever> Keeper also uses quintessence on himself, rubbing it on his skin like some kind of body lotion.
<Robin> Double ewww. >.<
<Celever> It helps him live longer and makes his wounds heal quickly. So, yeah, I'm sure he's still around.
<Green> I wonder if--
<Celever> Ohshi- enemies are coming!
<Green> Yay, less plot, more battle. :D​


We rushed outside into the town. It was pitch black, but sure enough, we could hear the sounds of enemies approaching. We quickly prepared for battle. Seeing a shop that sold magic Tomes nearby, Skyleaf took a moment to slip on her Guiding Ring, as well. Skyleaf is now a Valkyrie!

Celever and SM remained inside the inn, until...


<Celever> SM, where do you think you're going?
<SM> I want to help...
<Celever> You're much too weak to do that! Stay in here.
<SM> But I can't. I want to help NotJim. I need to help him. His dad is dead because of me. I can't just sit here...
<Celever> *sigh* Okay, fine, take my hands.
<SM> Huh?
<Celever> I'm going to transfer you my exp. You're way too weak to go out there on your own, but with this help... well, you won't immediately die at least.
<SM> Oh, thank you~ <3
CG13.png

<Celever> There, now take care out there! <3
<SM> *runs outside* Hey guys!
<NotJim> SM? What are you doing here?
<SM> I can help out! I'll make your guys act again, like Celever used to do with his flute. I just, uh, dance instead of play.
<Athena> Alright, fine, just stay out of trouble.
<SM> Yes, ma'am!​


We all spread out to try and find the enemies, and also to visit shops and people and try and pick up as much loot as possible, of course. Green and BB mostly stayed behind to shop and protect Merlinus while the others slowly worked their way east, killing enemies and visiting homes as they went. There weren't all too many, so TGK and Jabber also amused themselves with a bit of arena work to earn some funds. Eventually the boss was in sight, and Luis and Robin teamed up to take him down together.


<NotJim> Goddammit. I'm so sick of these Black Fang.
<Green> How could you tell they were Fang?
<Athena> Enemy info box. Gives them away, everytime.
<NotJim> We need to hit these guys back and hit them hard, pay them back for what they did to my dad.
<Green> Wooooo! \o/
<BB> Do you have a plan in mind, NotJim?
<NotJim> I think the first step is to get in touch with Marquess Ostia, Green's brother Icarus.
<Green> *sigh* fiiiiine~​


Meanwhile, in some creepy place...


<Keeper> Sonia, Limstella, you guys here?
<Sonia> Yup.
<Limstella> ... ... ...
<Keeper> Alright, I'm going to be out of commission for a little while still, but I want to begin Operation Payback on that little redhead. Sonia, get in touch with the Fang. It's time to bring out the Four Fangs now.
<Sonia> Of course, milord.
<Keeper> Limstella, you're on quintessence gathering duty. You're the strongest of my morphs now... grab a lot, would you? This stab wound still stings like hell.
<Limstella> Yes, my lord.​

Current Team!

Lord Green
- Lv. 17 Lord
Lord NotJim - Lv. 17 Lord
Luis - Lv. 1 Sage
Skyleaf - Lv. 2 Valkyrie
BB - Lv. 16 Lord
TGK - Lv. 4 Paladin
Robin - Lv. 20 Pegasus Knight
Jabber - Lv. 3 Hero
PP - Lv. 18 Monk
SM - Lv. 9 Dancer


Player Notes

A nice easy, plot-light chapter. Which is good since I didn't have a lot of time free to play today. Sure, it's FoW, but few paths and enemies, and since we have a lot of promoted units, we're rolling over mook enemies.

SM finally joins us. She starts with the same exp and stats as Celever left Lyn's Mode with. Unlike him, she can also use rings to give units temporary boosts. I'm not as crazy about Dancers as a lot of the FE fandom, so mostly I'm just keeping her with NotJim to start boosting that support.

Now that people have new weapons available on promotion, I'm attempting to train those. Luis gets Staves, so he was my primary healer this chapter. Jabber started off with an axe, too; I want him to get at least to D rank for Hand Axes, though C would be better. Skyleaf is a murder machine with a Fire time; she's only one Mag point less than Luis, so she can do a lot of damage, plus get around super easy. I'm not really bothering to train TGK with Axes, though; he's already got ranged access with Lances, so eh.

Jabber and TGK ended up with so much exp mostly thanks to Arena-ing. I spent too much on Secret Shops and we were really low, so I got a bunch of funds in order to buy a few new things. I really should go through our convoy and sell some stuff, too.

Next chapter will see 2 recruits, one new face and one old: Heath is finally joining the show, and Vom is coming back as well. Hurray! They'll both come in at pretty low levels compared to the rest of our guys, so we'll be spending the majority of our focus training them up once they get there.

Anyway, time for me to go cook dinner, so I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! <3
 
No Stage 2s in this game, though. I'd have to play Radiant Dawn for that.
 
Chapter 22: Everyone, protect Celever's nap!

At the Black Fang HQ...


<Brendan> Jaffar. Ursula. Lloyd. Linus. My Four Fangs. I have a mission for you all.
<Ursula> Yay. >.>
<Jaffar> ... ... ...
<Brendan> I have a new target for the 4 of you: NotJim of Pherae. He's traveling with a small band of fighters and also some lordling friends. I don't think he should be too difficult to take down, but on the other hand, underestimating him is a bad idea.
<Sonia> And so all of you will be tasked with taking them out, including you, Lloyd and Linus, my beloved stepsons.
<Lloyd> Are these actually father's orders or...?
<Sonia> Of course they are, right husband?
<Brendan> Well, er...
<Sonia> *stamps on Brendan's foot*
<Brendan> Yes! Of course, my orders and no one else's.
<Sonia> There, satisfied? Get rid of NotJim. Your father AND your leader commands you. Or are you too good to obey orders now?
<Linus> Hey, don't talk to my bro that way. >:|
<Lloyd> Nah, it's cool.
<Sonia> What about you, Ursula? Jaffar? Any insubordination to add?
<Ursula> Nope, I'm good.
<Jaffar> ... ... ...
<Sonia> Alright, now go kill NotJim. The Black Fang's honour depends on it.​


Meanwhile, with the cool dudes, we left the harbor and traveled northwest towards Ostia, eventually stopping at a fort right on the Ostian border.


<Green> And here we wait for my bro to show up. It'll be easier to talk here without spies everywhere.
<SM> Celever, you okay bro? :<
<Celever> Yeah, just a bit drained from losing all my exp still... I think I'll.... *collapse*
<Green> Ohshi- you okay bro?
<BB> Let's move him in back and bring Skyleaf to heal him up.
<SM> No, don't move him!
<Everyone> o_o?
<SM> Just, uh, let him lie there, please? And don't trouble Skyleaf. He just needs some rest is all.
<Skyleaf> Well, if you change your mind...
<Green> It's kind of weird, but... I guess we'll do what you say.
<SM> Thank you. <3
<Athena> Hate to break the mood, guy, but we're under attack. Enemies are coming in through the east gate.
<NotJim> How convenient. *sigh*
<Green> I guess we'll have to focus on protecting Celever so he can finish taking his nap in this exact same spot like SM wants.
<Athena> That seems... kind of specific and peculiar, but sure, I guess.​


We quickly prepared for battle and arranged ourselves around the room where Celever was passed out and snoring. When grabbing her lances, Robin also picked up an Elysian Whip she had found so she could promote. Robin is now a Falcoknight!

I left a few soldiers behind to protect Celever and Merlinus while the others fanned to confront the intruders. To the west, NotJim was working on helping clear a path for Legault to loot some chests when he was approached by an enemy Wyvern Rider with two-tone hair.


<???> Hey, you in charge here, redhead?
<NotJim> Well, I am one of the 3 Lords, so.... sure?
<Cypher> Sweet! My name is Cypher, and I work with these mercs.
<NotJim> So... you just wanted to introduce yourself before we fight?
<Cypher> No, I want to surrender. I have no intention of harming women and children.
<NotJim> Wow, that's sexist.
<Cypher> Alright, fine, women are okay, but no kids. So, I'm still surrendering.
<NotJim> Oh, okay then. Just stay out of the way, I guess, since we need to finish up the fight here and all.
<Cypher> Oh, no worries, I'll help you fight them.
<NotJim> You... You'd rather turncoat and fight your fellow mercenaries than kill a couple kids you've never met before?
<Cypher> Is that a problem?
<NotJim> *shrugs* If that's what you want, knock yourself out.​


Meanwhile to the east, BB spots an old friend.


<BB> Hey, Vom! :D
<Vom> Yo, 'sup BB?
<BB> Hey, wanna ditch those silly green NPCs and come back to the cool blue squad?
<Vom> lolsure​


NotJim helped Cypher out on the west side so that he could bulk up and gain some nice exp while the others swept up the east and center, also trying to feed EXP to Vom. Robin, Luis, and Vom worked together to take down their commander, and the other soldiers retreated as soon as he was dead, netting us a nice easy victory.

Afterward, Icarus finally showed up and we all had a nice chat telling him about what we learned. We found out from SM that she was able to sense Keeper in the far east, leading to speculation that he may be in Bern. Green wanted to head for Bern right away, but Icarus counseled us to stop first at Missur near the Nabata Desert to seek aid. Green was angry at the detour, but in the end we agreed to take the suggestion.

Current Team!

Lord Green
- Lv. 17 Lord
Lord NotJim - Lv. 17 Lord
Luis - Lv. 2 Sage
Skyleaf - Lv. 3 Valkyrie
BB - Lv. 16 Lord
TGK - Lv. 4 Paladin
Robin - Lv. 2 Falcoknight
Jabber - Lv. 3 Hero
PP - Lv. 19 Monk
SM - Lv. 10 Dancer
Cypher - Lv. 10 Wyvern Rider
Vom - Lv. 13 Nomad


Player Notes

So, I started this chapter before lunch, but during lunch I developed a huge nasty headache that refuses to quit, so I just kind of sped through the ending so I could get this chapter done and go lie down.

Short recap: Lots of reinforcement, funneling EXP to Cypher and Vom, yada yada. I'll go into more detail about them tomorrow.
 
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RETURN OF THE GRAMMAR NAZI
<Sonia> Alright, now kill kill NotJim.
Wait, a double kill, doesn't that make him live? D:

green wanted to head for Bern right away, but Icarus counseled us to stop first at Missur near the Nabata Desert to seek aid. Green was angry at the detour, but in the end we agreed to take the suggestion.
Poor Green has been demoted to only a color. green is no longer a lord, just a shade.
Also, you're blasted right we listen to Icarus. No one messes with the epic style! (Sorry, Jabber, but I won't let you kill him. ^_^)
 
Don't worry about it. :p

But, yeah, I was purposefully rushing finishing the chapter because I wanted to go lie down.
 
A nap and some ibuprofen seems to have taken care of the worst of it, thankfully.
 
So, I started this chapter before lunch, but during lunch I developed a huge nasty headache that refuses to quit, so I just kind of sped through the ending so I could get this chapter done and go lie down.

No kidding... I feel my head is about to burst right now, as well... :(

Ugh... either way keep up the great work. :) Hector/Green's a great character and I'm glad I picked him :D
 
Chapter 23: Obligatory desert chapter

<Athena> So, where is this desert place anyway?
<Green> It's basically an entire large peninsula all to itself at the very western edge of the continent.
<Athena> Yeesh, I can see why you consider that a pretty major detour considering that Bern is to the far east.
<Vom> Not to mention that it's a boring lifeless desert of death. :\
<Cypher> On the bright side, this is a video game so we basically have instantaneous transportation.
<NotJim> Huh, yeah, look at that, we're already here.
<Celever> Oh, geez, it's hot here. -_-;
<Green> You're not going to collapse on us again are you? Here, let me help you.
CG14.png

<Celever> Wahhhh! I'm gonna fall!
<SM> Hmm... the Marquess said someone would be here to meet us, but I don't see anyone. :\
<NotJim> I think we just need to go deeper in. Here, take my arm.
<SM> You guys are always so kind to my brother and me... despite our strange powers and weird looks...
<NotJim> Well, it's a video game, so you guys don't really look THAT weird compared to everyone else...​


Meanwhile, deeper in the desert....


<OldDude> Ohhey, someone's coming.
<HotChick> Is it Lord Pent?
<OldDude> Nope, it's a bunch of people sent here by Lord Icarus. I guess Hawkeye will find them and bring them in.
<HotChick> I guess that means Pent is still searching the desert then, huh.
<OldDude> Well, he's not a thief so he only has an 11% change to find an item when he stands on a tile. He'll get lucky sooner or later. What he really needs to worry about are the bandits coming.
<HotChick> Ohshi-
<OldDude> You're not worried, are you?
<HotChick> No, he can take care of himself, I just hope his lateness doesn't delay your dinner.
<OldDude> Ahahahahahaha, oh, Louise, you always crack me up.
<Louise> Oh, I guess we're using dialogue as an excuse to give the readers our names? In that case, thank you Lord Athos. I wonder what the visitors want, though.
<Athos> I could just tell you... but instead I think I'll just spout some cryptic bullshit instead.
<Louise> Oh, fair enough.​


Meanwhile, back with our heroes...


<SM> Ohshi- a guy is being attacked by bandits over there.
<Green> Hurray, a battle! \o/
<BB> Hurry up, Green, or we'll leave you behind! :U
<Green> Stupid slow armor. >_<​


We quickly pulled out our weapons and rushed into the desert to fight. Robin took the lead and quickly flew out in the direction of the mysterious man to save him from harm. Meanwhile, Lord Green happened to come across some nice "shade" in the form of a tall blond Berserker called Hawkeye who called himself the Defender of the Desert and offered to help us take care of the bandits.

While Robin was rescuing the mysterious lone Sage, the others trudged slowly westward into the sand. Heath took advantage of his flying to maneuver around and take out a lot of weak units, while Vom plowed slowly ahead with his horse to take aim at the flying enemies. Legault managed to steal a Guiding Ring from one of the bosses and tossed it over to PP who used it right away to promote. PP is now a Bishop!

Eventually we managed to whittle our way through the enemies until only the second boss remained, though it was still taking everyone a while to move through the sand to reach him. On the way, NotJim and SM shared a short conversation.


<SM> Lord NotJim?
<NotJim> Yes, SM?
<SM> I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, if that's alright.
<NotJim> For what? >_>
<SM> For saving me from those kidnappers last year. I was unconscious at the time and don't remember what happened, but BB told me it was you who saved me.
<NotJim> Oh, you're very welcome!
<SM> I'd like to repay the favour for you, if I may.
<NotJim> Well, I don't plan on getting kidnapped anytime soon, but maybe when we're camping out for the night you should show me a special dance of yours? :3
<SM> I would be happy to. ^_^​


After we finally reached the boss, PP, Cypher, and Vom worked together to take him down and the bandit problem was finally taken care of. Now that we didn't have to worry about the stranger stealing anymore EXP, I told Robin to set him down.


<Pent> Hey guys, thanks, you really helped me out there. My name is Pent. What brings you out here, anyway?
<Green> My brother told us to come out here to get aid from a "living legend". Don't suppose you know what that's about, do you?
<Pent> I think I might... oh, it looks like you met Hawkeye, too!
<Hawkeye> Yeah, I came out here to check up on you. Didya find what you were looking for?
<Pent> I did indeed! Come with me, I'll take you to a place where we can rest overnight.
<Green> You mean there's actually houses in all of this sand? I-- WHOA!!
<BB> Green, are you okay? It looks li--
<NotJim> Ohshi- it's a sand sinkhole! They're all falling in!! I'm--​

Current Team!

Lord Green
- Lv. 17 Lord
Lord NotJim - Lv. 18 Lord
Luis - Lv. 3 Sage
Skyleaf - Lv. 3 Valkyrie
BB - Lv. 16 Lord
TGK - Lv. 4 Paladin
Robin - Lv. 2 Falcoknight
Jabber - Lv. 3 Hero
PP - Lv. 1 Bishop
SM - Lv. 12 Dancer
Cypher - Lv. 13 Wyvern Rider
Vom - Lv. 17 Nomad


Player Notes

Well, how's about that for a cliffhanger?

And it really is a cliffhanger, too, sorry guys. As some of my readers may have seen elsewhere on the forums, I'm leaving for a trip to the US on Monday and I won't be able to update while I'm gone, so you'll have to wait a few weeks for the next chapter. :U

This is the obligatory desert chapter, slow, boring, and items in the sand to find and pick-up. We get a lot of useful stuff, though, including our 3rd Guiding Ring so PP could promote, a Body Ring (one of the best stat boosters in the game, it permanently boosts Con by 2 which you can't raise any other way, and it helps you wield better weapons without a spd penalty), a ranged magic sword, and some other cool stuff.

Now that I'm not dying, I'm also going to take an opportunity to talk about our new recruits.

Vom is Vom. Welcome back Vom! He came back in at Lv. 10 and I've worked on pumping him up since then since we already have an Orion's Bolt ready for him to promote as soon as he hits 20. It was, in fact, one of our first promotion items. :U Since he's our only bow user, he fills a nice niche, and being on horseback lets him get around really well (so long as it's not a desert chapter anyway). He's got goot Str, Skl, and Spd for where he's at, but I did give him last chapter's Angelic Robe to boost up his defenses a bit.

Cypher is brand new, welcome Cypher! As a Wyvern Rider, he's basically a bulkier version of Robin, riding a wyvern instead of a Pegasus, but still wielding lances. Unfortunately, he joins at Lv. 7, so he takes a bit of work to get going, even if he does come with nice bases. 6 levels and he's getting up there, slowly but surely. Heath's got really great Str/Def for where he's at, but he's been sadly Spd screwed; only 1 Spd level up in 6 levels and it's hurting him a lot. I know where our next Speedwings are going...

The next chapter is actually another gaiden, but I guess you guys will have a while to wait for that. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
 
You write so fast Athena >.< I missed like 4 chapters when I checked in. Or maybe I should check more often because I don't seem to get any alerts... Anyway it was a nice read. Fire Emblem Blazing Sword is pretty cruel, poor Notjim...

I'm also in favour for a Fire Emblem Binding Blade walkthrough. Although Fire Emblem 7 is my favourite fire emblem game, 6 is a close second.
 
No way.
I couldn't find any grammar mistakes. :0

Athena has passed the Grammar Nazi's test!
Grammar Nazi was promptly kicked out of the bar!
 
The [bird] to "apple juice" censor
best censor ever, use it more please XD

<NotJim> You... You'd rather turncoat and fight your fellow mercenaries than kill a couple kids you've never met before?
<Cypher> Is that a problem?
<NotJim> *shrugs* If that's what you want, knock yourself out.
I see no problem in abandoning people you've known for a long time and kill them just so you don't kill kids you've never met before.... it's just game logic .-.
 
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Chapter 23x: We're baaaaack :3

Last time, on Fire Emblem:

<Pent> Hey guys, thanks, you really helped me out there. My name is Pent. What brings you out here, anyway?
<Green> My brother told us to come out here to get aid from a "living legend". Don't suppose you know what that's about, do you?
<Pent> I think I might... oh, it looks like you met Hawkeye, too!
<Hawkeye> Yeah, I came out here to check up on you. Didya find what you were looking for?
<Pent> I did indeed! Come with me, I'll take you to a place where we can rest overnight.
<Green> You mean there's actually houses in all of this sand? I-- WHOA!!
<BB> Green, are you okay? It looks li--
<NotJim> Ohshi- it's a sand sinkhole! They're all falling in!! I'm--​

This time, on Fire Emblem:

Ohhey, look, it's a flashback. You can tell because everything has this really nice sepia tone:

CG37.png


That's Keeper over there talking to... some kind of skinny naked creepy looking dude. That dude is named...


<Keeper> ... Kishuna, yes, I shall named you Kishuna. That's a pretty cool name, right? After all, you're the first morph that I have created that I've given emotions to. I suppose that makes me a god, sweet! Don't worry, though, you don't have to worship me or anything. I'm a cool god like that.
<Kishuna> ... ... ...​


Back in the present day... Kishuna (who now happens to be the same as that creepy silent sekrit boss back in chapter 29x) ponders his memories of those ancient days as he stands around in some kind of building. Silently. And creepily....


<Green> Wahhhhhh!
<BB> Wahhhhhh!
<NotJim> Wahhhhhh!
*THUD!*
<Green> Oh god, it feels like I've been falling for weeks!
<BB> Is everyone okay?
<Luis> Ohgod, my spine...
<Green> Do you have any idea where we are, new guys?
<Pent> Nope.
<Hawkeye> Strange underground ruins of some sort. *shrugs*
<BB> Ohshi- I feel something weird...
<NotJim> Something that feels suspiciously like that anti-magic field generated by that weird creepy sekrit boss we fought back in 19x...
<Pent> Hmmm... yep, feels like a Magic Seal alright.
<Celever> Ohshi- I'm sensing danger. I have a feeling that dude summoned some enemies for you to fight.
<Green> Sweet! Let's fighting time. :3​


Before we could head out, however, a huge wall slammed down in the middle of the party, splitting everyone up. NotJim, PP, Vom, Hawkeye, and Legault were forced to head west while Green, Skyleaf, Cypher, SM, and Jabber went east. Thankfully, the "Magic Seal" prevented the enemy magic users from being able to do any damage to us and we were able to work out way around pretty easily, sometimes opening doors, sometimes breaking down walls. Legault pilfered the few chests that were scattered around.

Eventually we managed to find a path back to each other and worked together to the center of the ruins where the creepy boss guy would be waiting for us. Jabber reached out to open the final door with a pilfered door key, and as soon as the door was open, the Magic Seal disappeared... and the boss with it.


<Green> Awww, damn, I wanted to kill the weird guy again. :<
<Pent> At least the seal is gone.
<Green> What the hell is he anyway?
<Pent> *shrug* Let's clean up those last few guys and get out of here.​


Once we finished killing the rest of the enemies, the screen immediately changed and we were not only back above ground, but in a magnificent chamber of some sort. Huh. I guess we found some steps and Pent led us back to wherever we were going very very quickly. Or maybe a wizard did it. There was a pretty wizardly looking dude standing in the middle of the room, anyway. He appeared to be waiting for us.


<Wizard> Welcome, children of Roland! I've been waiting for you!
<Green> Huh? That's not my dad's name....
<NotJim> No, you dummy, he's talking about Roland, one of the Eight Legends that defeated the dragons during the Scouring.
<BB> Growing up in Sacae, I always heard stories of Hanon, th--
<Athena> Nope. Stop right there. We're not getting into any myth exposition now; this chapter is already kind of long and we have a lot of plot to get through still.
<Wizard> Yes, she's right. Let's get right to the point here, shall we? I am Athos, though some people just call me Wizard. I, too, was one of the Eight Legends, back in the day.
<Green> Oh, geez, you must be like a billion years old.
<Athos> Dude, don't be ageist. Anyway, you guys are going after Keeper, right?
<TGK> How did you know? :O
<Athos> Dude, I'm a MFing Wizard. Aren't you listening?
<Green> So, can you help us take him out?
<Athos> If you think I'm going to grab a wand and waltz out of here to kill him for you, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed.
<Vom> Awww... :\
<Athos> But like all helpful old wizardly dudes, I can at least give you cryptic advice and shit. This guy, Keeper... he's kind of like me, not entirely human anymore. He's got a lot of sick crazy magic powers, too. You're not going to be able to kill him by just stabbing him in the back with an axe.
<Robin> Yeah, we kinda learned that one the hard way already.
<Athos> My advice to you is to use this time now while Keeper is regaining his health to go on an important quest to retrieve a great power that will help you defeat him once and for all. It will be a difficult road, full of many trials.
<Green> Don't worry about us, old man, we got this.
<Athos> Alright... in that case... go to the Shrine of Seals in Bern. Oh, and take Hawkeye with you.
<Pent> Louise and I want to go, too. I'm the Magic General Lord of Etruria, after all.
<Green> Sweet! You're in.
<Athos> I could teleport you directly to the shrine in Bern, but then you wouldn't get to experience all of those fun trials I told you about, so I'll just teleport you guys to Pherae instead. Take care!​


Without another word, Wizard Athos raised his hands and we were magically teleported to the field outside Pherae Castle. NotJim had a tearful reunion with his mother, and we all spent a nice night in the castle, resting and planning for our coming journey.

Current Team!

Lord Green
- Lv. 17 Lord
Lord NotJim - Lv. 20 Lord
Luis - Lv. 3 Sage
Skyleaf - Lv. 4 Valkyrie
BB - Lv. 16 Lord
TGK - Lv. 4 Paladin
Robin - Lv. 3 Falcoknight
Jabber - Lv. 3 Hero
PP - Lv. 1 Bishop
SM - Lv. 13 Dancer
Cypher - Lv. 18 Wyvern Rider
Vom - Lv. 20 Nomad


Player Notes

Hey guys, I'm back, woooo~

Sorry for the delay in getting another chapter out to you. I've been home for almost a week now (!!), but my husband took Thursday and Friday off work so I had another little mini-vacation with him, and then Monday and Tuesday were spent catching up on all of the stuff I missed while I was gone. It's been a busy week!

And so we get right back into the saddle with a Gaiden chapter starring our good friend Kishuna. Remember all the difficulties I had killing him in 19x? Well, in this chapter, you only have a single HIT to kill him instead of a single round, and it needs to be a ranged hit because if you open the door he disappears, so... yeah, basically there's no way to actually kill him this chapter unless you specifically train up a Kishuna killer. Thankfully, this time killing him isn't as important since we don't get a Gaiden chapter out of it again, so I didn't mind just not killing him.

Almost all of the enemies this level are promoted which means they give huge amounts of EXP to Vom and Cypher, both of whom we're trying to level up still. Vom got up to 20 (I'll use his Orion's Bolt to promote him before next chapter), and Cypher is 18.47, so he's getting close.

We also leveled up NotJim to 20... for completely the wrong reasons. I thought we got our first Heaven Seal next chapter but it's actually not for another 2 chapters, so he'll probably be benched until then so we don't lose any exp to him. Stupid Athena. >_<

Next chapter is interesting in that there are actually 2 versions of it. Which version you get is dependent on the total level of all 3 Lord characters (Green, NotJim, and BB). Our combined total is over the threshold of 50, so we get the "Linus" version, which is slightly easier (no FoW, for starters). I hope to play through it tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy! <3
 
Chapter 24: Everyone in Bern is crazy

Alright, so, we're heading to Bern. Let's talk about Bern for a bit, shall we? They're over in the southeast. If you remember, we went across their borders very shortly back in Lyn's Mode when we were heading from Sacae to see BB's granddaddy. They've got a lot of military power, but thankfully they're also on friendly terms with Lycia... or at least they were. Lately, the King of Bern (Desmond) has been kind of strutting his stuff and flaunting his army and no one's quite sure entirely what it means but it's probably not great.

As a result, Lycian nobles haven't really felt safe traveling there, so Green, NotJim, and BB all put on disguises before we begin the trek to the Shrine of Seals.


<Athena> Welp, this is Bern.
<Green> Seems pretty happy. Is there some kind of festival going on?
<Skyleaf> Prince Zephiel of Bern will be having his coming-of-age ceremory in a few days, so the people are celebrating. He's a very popular young prince.
<NotJim> So, we've crossed into the border... now what? Where is this Shrine located, anyway?
<Hawkeye> I know it's somewhere in the north, but the exact location is something of a secret. Only the royal family knows exactly where it's located.
<BB> Sweet! We'll just ask them.
<Green> Dude, did you forget we're in disguise? How are we supposed to meet with the royal family as a bunch of commoners in shitty robes?
<BB> Oh... right...
<Pent> I might be able to help out a bit. Etruria has good relations with Bern, so I at least know it's general location. We actually sent a few scouts to try and find it, but none of them have returned.
<Luis> That's... foreboding.
<Pent> We think they were probably captured.
<Green> So if we go to find this Shrine, we might also get captured...
<NotJim> ... and they might penetrate our amazing disguises and figure out who we are.
<Pent> And if that happens, Bern may use it as an excuse to invade Lycia.
<Everyone> :O!
<Pent> Thankfully, like I said, I think I can help out. Louise and I are actually scheduled to attend this ceremony for Zephiel. His mom, Queen Hellene, is from Etruria and happens to be a distant relative of mine. I think I'll plan an audience with her and... discreetly ask about the Shrine. I'm not sure how much she'll share with us, but it's a starting place at least.
<Green> Sweet! Thanks.
<Pent> I should be back sometime tomorrow with news. But if something happens and I don't return... fall back to Lycia and come up with a new plan, alright?
<Robin> What would happen if you don't return? :<
<Pent> It wouldn’t be a bad life, really. Abandoning my position… Living on the run with Louise…
<TGK> Well, we'll be hoping for the best for you. >.>​


Meanwhile, in the town to the north...


<Linus> Ohhey, Nino.
<Nino> Linus! Lloyd! 'Sup, boys? <3
<Lloyd> Oh, working on a job, the usual.
<Nino> Me too! I'm running errands for mother and it's ever so fun. :3 We should get together and hang out once we're free again. Take care, guys! <3 *flees*
<Linus> Awww... such a sweetie she is. I really can't believe that witch is her mom...​


Meanwhile, back with the gang, waiting for Pent and Louise to come back....


<Green> Man, I'm so sick of waiting. Isn't there someone I can punch? >_<
<Legault> Well, you could try looking for information on the Black Fang while you're here. Theyré headquartered in Bern, after all.
<NotJim> That's not a bad plan.
<BB> Let's start by asking in this village to the north, come on!
...
<Lloyd> *whispers* Hey, aren't those the guys we were supposed to kill?
<Linus> *whispers* I thought they were supposed to be in the desert or something. What are they doing here?
<Lloyd> I dunno, I think we ought to go off and report about it to dad before we do anything, though.
<Linus> You do that, I'll stay here and watch them.
<Lloyd> Sweet! *flees*
<Linus> Of course, watching is boring... I'd rather taunt and kill them. Igor, come here and help me!
<Igor> But didn't Lloyd just say...
<Linus> Yeah, yeah, who cares. You don't want to look like a Feline, do you?
<Igor> Of course not!
<Linus> Then go do some taunting!
<Igor> *runs up* Hey, you guys are Green and NotJim, right?
<Green> What's it to you?
<NotJim> Hey, you're Black Fang!
<Igor> Yep! And we're led by one of the Four Fangs himself, Linus the Mad Dog!
<Green> Woohoo! A fight! \o/​


Black Fang assassins began to pour out of the woodwork as we quickly prepared for battle. Vom grabbed a nearby sword and a spare Orion's Bolt to use before things started. Vom is now a Nomad Trooper! Most of our party moved to the north to try to find and take out this so-called "Mad Dog", but Cypher, Luis, and Jabber moved to the east to try and warn a local village. The old man that greeted them was so grateful that he gave Cypher an Earth Seal that he was immediately able to use and promote. Cypher is now a Wyvern Lord!

To the north, we slowly moved together, taking out enemies as we went, and visiting the few shops we saw. PP found a local arena and spent a few rounds in the, dodgetanking like a boss and earning up some good funds for our little army. Robin and Cypher both flew out across the lake to take out some of the wyvern riders and pirates that were forming there.

Eventually, Linus was in sight. Skyleaf, TGK, and Vom all worked together to take him out, but he wasn't quite dead. Like all good bosses, he had to gloat for a bit.


<Linus> You guys are good... too good... maybe I should have listened to my brother... but... I will not die quite so easily... *slips up to NotJim and holds a knife to his throat* I will take you with me!!
<NotJim> lolkay
<Linus> Huh? Aren't you scared? o_o;
<NotJim> During the fight, I couldn't help but notice that you kept the villagers out of harms way.
<Linus> Of course; we don't want to hurt them, just you.
<NotJim> So you fight with honour. So let me ask you this... why are you trying to kill us?
<Linus> Because... you're evil! Sonia said so! And father...
<Green> We're evil? Really? That's the best you've got? Does this woman always keep you on a leash?
<Linus> Bah! None of this makes any sense. I'm going to retreat for now, try and figure some of this crap out. *flees bleedingly*
<BB> Wow, NotJim, that was super brave of you.
<NotJim> Nah, I knew he wouldn't kill. I only peed myself a little bit.
<Green> That bit about the villagers, and many of them spoke kindly of the Black Fang too... I'm beginning to think they're being used and manipulated by Keeper somehow.
<Jabber> One of the villagers was dressed in Black Fang garb but talked to me instead of attacking me. He seemed to believe that this Sonia woman was behind all of the changes.
<Green> Looks like we ought to talk to the real head, then. Brendon Reed. Come on, let's get back to camp!​


Meanwhile, at the end of the trail of Linus's blood...


<Linus> Man, this sucks... I really need to talk to my bro... he really needs to know not to trust that woman...
<Limstella> ... ... ...
<Linus> Ohshi- where did you come from? I... urgh... I've blundered... Lloyd.... I'm sorry....
<Limstella> ... ... ... >:3​


Meanwhile, at Bern Manse...


<Desmond> Hey wife, where's my son?
<Hellene> Oh, Zephiel? He's out practicing his falconry.
<Desmond> You did this on purpose, didn't you? Send him away before you knew I was coming?
<Hellene> :3
<Desmond> *sigh* No matter, I guess I'll talk to you instead. His coming-of-age ceremony is soon you know.
<Hellene> Of course I know! I've been counting down the days until my precious son will be announced as your proper and true heir, even though he and myself, your lawful wife and queen, have been languishing away in this manse while you keep that mistress of yours in the palace.
<Desmond> Oh please, I treat you and the boy very well, don't whine like you're being abused.
<Hellene> Oh, it's of no consequence to me. No matter how much you dote on that woman and the illegitimate daughter she gave to you, it is MY son who will the throne, with the noble blood of Etruria in his veins. He's such a smart and brave and fearless and handsome and lovely boy and everyone loves him! "Princess" Guinevere will languish in the shadows while my beautiful Zephiel rules all of Bern! Mwahahahahaha!!
<Desmond> Hey, hey, shut up, I'm the one that's the evil dude here. You'll give the reader's a bad impression.
<Hellene> >:\
<Desmond> Besides, I actually did want to tell you about something. Someone stole the Fire Emblem from the palace last night.
<Hellene> Oh, please. You expect me to believe that? It's only the most heavily guarded treasure of all of Elibe AND the namesake of this whole flipping game series. You're just saying this as an excuse so that you won't have to crown my precious son. After all, everyone knows you can't have a coming-of-age ceremony without the Fire Emblem, obviously.
<Desmond> Well, you can choose to believe or you can go to the castle and find out for yourself. Rage as much as you want, but it really was stolen which means no ceremony.
<Hellene> My poor Zephiel.... :<
<Desmond> *leaves*
<Steward> My lady, you have a visitor.
<Hellene> I don't care. I don't want to see anyone. >:|
<Louise> Not even me and Lord Pent? <3
<Hellene> Louise! <3
<Louise> You look so sad, my lady... what is troubling you?
<Hellene> Well, you see...​


Many hours later, outside of town...


<Green> Ohhey, Pent and Louise are back. 'Sup? Any news?
<Pent> Well.... good news and bad news.
<Louise> The good news is that the Queen will tell us as much as she knows, but the bad news is that we have to run a bit of an errand for her first. If we find what she wants within 10 days, she'll talk.
<Green> Guess we don't have much of a choice, then, do we....​

Current Team!

Lord Green
- Lv. 17 Lord
Lord NotJim - Lv. 20 Lord
Luis - Lv. 3 Sage
Skyleaf - Lv. 5 Valkyrie
BB - Lv. 18 Lord
TGK - Lv. 4 Paladin
Robin - Lv. 5 Falcoknight
Jabber - Lv. 3 Hero
PP - Lv. 5 Bishop
SM - Lv. 14 Dancer
Cypher - Lv. 3 Wyvern Lord
Vom - Lv. 4 Nomad Trooper


Player Notes

Wow, that was a long chapter.

The actual battle portion was fairly easy. We now have everyone promoted except our Lords, so most of the enemies don't provide much of a challenge as long as we use common sense. The Earth Seal that Cypher used is basically a "promote everyone but Lords and Thieves" promotion item, so that was nice since we didn't have a second Elysian Whip for him yet. We didn't really need to use the arena, but I was amused at how well PP was able to dodge things. He fought 7 or 8 fights there and only took a single hit towards the end.

In their new promoted classes, both Vom and Cypher now have access to swords, but I'm only planning on training up Vom with them to give him a 1-range options. We've got enough sword users and Cypher is good with lances.

Even Merlinus gets a promotion! We've used him enough now to reach Lv. 20 where he automagically promotes in a horse-drawn wagon. This is important because it means the Convoy will be able to move each round (5 whole squares!) instead of being forced to remain in one spot with someone protecting it. It'll still need protection, of course, but that will be easier to provide when we have a bit more control over its location. It also makes it easier for people to trade items with the convoy in battle if necessary.

Gameplay aside, The plot is starting to move on, and boy do we get a lot of it. We're finally in Bern, where everyone is apparently crazy. Black Fang, the royal family, etc. The only one who seems to have his head screwed on tight is this Prince Zephiel fellow that everyone seems to love (except his dad, poor kid). There's a subplot with Nino and Jaffar that I cut out because we're not using either of them, though. Otherwise the chapter would be even longer. :U

Next chapter is another Hector-mode only chapter. I'm running a bit late today and I won't have much time tomorrow, but I hope to do another unit recap on Monday. :3

Hope you all enjoy!

PS: For the record, we have 12 chapters left, so we'll probably finish up right at the end of February, unless I have any delays.
 
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